


The Night We Met, And The day We Met Again

by Gryffindorlove_1



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Human Castiel (Supernatural), Hurt Dean Winchester, M/M, One Shot, coda s15 e20 Supernatural, dean cas - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27602264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryffindorlove_1/pseuds/Gryffindorlove_1
Summary: Sam and Dean hear of strange occurrences near an old location that only Dean has been to. It's been twelve years since he first met the Angel of the Lord Castiel. What will he find going back to the barn where he first met his best friend? Deciding to check out the case, they find a few demons and something strange.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: One Shots





	The Night We Met, And The day We Met Again

**The Night We Met, And** **The day We Met Again**

Sam and Dean find some strange signs leading to an angel falling, similar to those of when Anna’s grace had fallen from heaven all those years ago.

Yet, when they drive towards the location, they figure out that it just so happens to be near the barn where Cas and Dean met for the very first time on the physical plane. Sam does not know the significance of this place, Dean never told him how it all happened, just that he was told Castiel was an angel sent to save him from hell. Always sent to save him, Dean Winchester, the righteous man, the Michael sword… and now the broken man. Dean hasn’t been the same since Cas died, not since that night…the night Cas… the night Cas…

Dean can’t go there, not now. Not knowing what he knows about this place, about the barn. Knowing that Cas may still be alive. He knows, probably has always known, that he feels the same way. But, to Dean saying those words… that’s not how he shows his affection. His love language isn’t direct. Sam has told him as much, ever since Sam got back with Eileen after they stripped Chuck of his powers. Jack taking all of it, becoming the new god. Sam has told Eileen he loves her, and they are even planning to get married.

Dean thinks about that day, the day everyone was snapped from the Earth, his earth, leaving only two humans and Nephilim and two archangels on the planet. He thinks about how it's been 7 years since they lost Cas, seven years since Sam got Eileen back. The boys still hunt together, of course, they do. But Sam has Eileen, and they are settling down. Hell, Dean thinks to himself remembering the conversation that Sam had with him only a few days ago. The boy is finally talking about retiring from the job, Sam told him how he and Eileen have found a house not too far from the bunker, and Sam found a job… and actually 9-5 job. Dean’s happy for his brother, he is but. he can’t help feeling like he's missing something.

Like his missing a piece of himself.

Sam looks to Dean as they reach the barn, they are now walking having parked baby near the road, he noticed a shift in his brothers’ mood. Which isn’t strange, it shouldn’t be. Dean has been on and off for the past 7 years. The amount of times Sam has walked into the map room, only to be worried sick that Dean died from alcohol poisoning is troubling. Hell, it took Bobby, Sam, Eileen, Jody, Donna, and basically their whole family to sit Dean down and say either he goes into a rehab center. That or, he cools it with the drinking. It was that day, 5 years ago now where something must have clicked in Dean. Maybe, Sam looks to his brother who seems lost in thought, maybe dean realized he was hurting his loved one? Maybe, he found something to push him forward, either way, he's been somewhat sober since that evening.

“Dean?”

“Yeah, Sammy?” Dean sounds different, emotional like his holding something back.

“You seem like you know this place, aren’t you worried it’s a trap?”

Dean stops, turning to Sam, face hard his mask in place.

“Why would it be a trap? Lucifer is dead, we haven’t seen anything on the Demon front since Rowena took control of hell. All the angels are in the empty or in Heaven with Jack.”

Dean tries, he really tries not to think about the fact his angel, his buddy is in the empty… for saving him. For saving someone, who thought they didn’t deserve to be saved. Time and time again Cas has saved Dean, more than he can count. So, he tries not to think about that, because thinking about that means he's thinking about that night, and 5 years ago he promised himself, sure he promised Sam he would cool it, he would clean up his act. But he promised himself and his friend something else, that he would stop living in the past. Re-living that moment, because he knows Cas would hate that.

With that on his mind, with his best friend on his mind, Dean ends up storming into the familiar barn. He looks around, seeing the sigils covering the walls of the barn. Remembering that night, the night they met. He thinks about a song he heard, remembering some of the lyrics and boy does his mind start to sing it to him it’s a Lord Huron song, and boy is he glad Sam can’t read his thoughts.

Song plays:

“ _I am not the only traveler_

_Who has not repaid his debt_

_I’ve been searching for a trail to follow again_

_Take me back to the night we met”_

Oh, oh how ironic is it that this song is about a lonely traveler who wishes to go back to the night he met his beloved? Oh, if only Cas knew how Dean felt… how his feeling now being taken back to the night they met.

“ _And then I can tell myself_

_What the hell I’m supposed to do_

_And then I can tell myself_

_Not to ride along with you”_

Dean tries not to think about how he stabbed Cas as soon as he walked in, how he didn’t believe the words that Castiel told him when they first met. That he deserves to be saved, he almost wishes how his mind has taken him on a video replay of all the greatest hits between the two of them.

Dean is holding back tears when his mind starts playing the next part of the song.

_“I had all and then most of you_

_Some and now none of you_

_Take me back to the night we met_

_I don’t know what I’m supposed to do”_

Oh, how that hits Dean hard. When he sees the table where both he and Bobby summoned Castiel when Bobby had warned Dean that maybe they don’t want to know what this thing is. Bobby’s argument was that it had burnt out their friend’s eyes. But Dean had been admitting that the thing, the angel he knows now. Would not hurt him... oh how he had hope back then.

He doesn’t know what to do anymore, now that Sam’s moving away with Eileen, retiring from life. But, he's happy for his brother, his finally getting out of the life they have been forced into since Dean was 4 years old. Since the fire, since his mom, and since his father learned what really goes bump in the night.

“ _Haunted by the ghost of you_

_Oh, take me back to the night we met”_

See this Cas, see what you’ve done. You told me how you felt, but I never got to say it… I never...

Dean looks around, blinking forcefully, that day, and that night after when Billie was banging on the door, and Cas made his speech. He never imagined in the twelve years the men knew each other that an angel, a literal angel. A cosmic being, created by chuck himself. Would feel the way he did about him and tell him so.

_“When the night was full of terrors_

_And your eyes were filled with tears_

_When you had not touched me yet_

_Oh, take me back to the night we met”_

Cas, take me back… back to when you cried telling me the kind of man you think, no Dean thinks as he prays silently. The kind of man you know me to be, take me back to when you professed your feelings for me, and in doing so reminded me of how far we have come together.

_“I had all and then most of you_

_Some and now none of you_

_Take me back to the night we met_

_I don’t know what I’m supposed to do_

_Haunted by the ghost of you_

_Take me back to the night we met”_

The song has finally ended, but Dean continues to think back on all the moments where he was alone with his friend, laughing, flirting, and just being himself. He realizes now, now too late but still… that he has never had to keep his mask on around the angel because the angel… his angel saw right through the façade.

He is now vaguely aware of the commotion going on outside, it must have only been a few minutes that he had zoned out, thinking about the memories and what this barn meant. But, to him, it felt like hours, months, and years.

He hears yelling, scrawling, and a lot of grunting… his brother he thinks. Sam! Sam’s in danger, I need to move I need to help him. But just as Dean turns around, he sees something a body lying on the ground, and he runs to it. The thoughts of helping his brother leaving his mind.

Sam, notices that his brother is busy starring at the barn and is so lost in thought that he hasn’t noticed the stench of sulfur around the place. So, Sam is the more reasonable one of the two. He starts at the demons preparing to attack his brother it only takes him a few minutes to kill them, but he manages it. Then he heads into the barn, holding a now bloody Demon blade. He takes in the place. Realizing, that this isn’t just some random barn. No, a hunter has been in here looks like at least a decade ago judging by the look of the place and the fading of the sigils. Then he notices his brother, who is on the floor shaking something, then he hears it. Something, Sam never thought he would hear from his brother ever again.

“Cas?”

Then he hears a silent, but still deafening sob coming from the direction of his brother. His completely confused by this point and doesn’t understand why Dean is crying, saying the name of their dead friend over and over. Until he catches a glimpse of a very familiar trench coat next to his brother. But he's still confused, why is Dean sobbing? Surely his brother would be happy to have his best friend back. Surely Dean would have noticed Sam by now, his hunter senses picking up on the familiar presence in the room. So why hasn’t he said anything?

Sam thinks about something, Dean has never cried this hard… not since 7 years ago and even then Sam isn’t sure if his brother cried this much, this openly. He knows Dean bottles in his emotions, knows that he doesn’t like crying in front of others, that he prefers to do so alone. Preferably while listening to a Zeppelin tape.

“Dean?”

Sam whispers in an attempt to let his brother know his here, but his brother doesn’t respond just hugs the figure on the floor closer.

Sam sees Dean say something but his too far and is too confused by the scene in Infront of him that he doesn’t hear it. All he knows is that, now would be a good time to let Dean be and head back to the car. Dean will get him when he's ready to go, anyways he needs to call Eileen back.

But, just as Sam is turning around, he hears what his brother whispered, what he probably been whispering since that night.

“I love you to Cas”

And, shocked, Sam turns slightly to look at the figures in the corner next to the table that looks like it was flipped over and had a summoning ritual used on it at some point. But, he can’t be sure. All he knows is that the other figure looks at Dean with a certain look. After seeing that, Sam decides that if he doesn’t want to be scared for life and ruin a private moment between the two he should leave.

Dean:

Dean looks into those blue eyes, tears streaming down his face. He thinks he heard a voice whisper his name but he ignores it. Because laying in front of him is the one being he never thought would come back to him. His happy, but he's sad because he missed this cosmic being for so long that he doesn’t know what to do anymore. Then he kneels down further, bringing his face near the ear of his friend and whispering three little words.

“I love you”

He sits back, staring and then wiping tears from his face he looks into those eyes again and says “I love you too Cas”

“I hope you know that, that you can have it… what you want most. It’s there you can have it”

And he hugs the angel, not noticing that when he backs up a bit Cas is looking at Dean, with tears in his eyes. What happens next is unknown to either of them because it happened so fast, but they reach for each other. Pulling each other closer together until their mouths touch and who kissed whom first is unknown.

All they know is what Sam tells them when Dean walks back out of the barn with an angel right behind him, looking over his shoulder a protective yet caring stance. Sam doesn’t ask what happened because it’s a private moment between the two, and Sam doesn’t want to know what’s about to happen.

He just knows that he is happy for his brother because after all these years they are both finally happy. He even lets Cas ride shot-gun and tries to avoid noticing the looks his brother and his best-friend are giving each other. He definitely doesn’t notice that his brother is driving with one hand on the wheel and the other is hidden between the divider, but Sam assumes it’s near the gear shift because he definitely doesn’t see Cas put his hand near the shift a clasp his brother's hand. And, if Dean were to ask how Sam feels about Cas staying to live in the bunker germanely. Sam wouldn’t say he saw the spark in Dean’s eyes which matched his own when he talked about Eileen.

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this one-shot, based on recent photos of Jared behind the scenes of Episode 20 and wrote the basics of it on a discord server. But, like I just had to write this fic, and so I did.


End file.
